Since Nokia announced in February that they would be moving to the Windows Phone platform, Nokia’s first Windows Phone devices have been eagerly awaited in the industry. The Nokia Lumia 800 finally launched in the UK this month and it’s been turning a lot of heads. But what is Windows Phone 7 actually like? How does the Nokia Lumia 800 compare to other top smartphones which run Android or iOS? Are there more devices to come in the Lumia family? Is it possible to use a Nokia Lumia device on giffgaff?

What is the Nokia Lumia?

The ‘Lumia’ series of smartphones is Nokia’s new flagship smartphone range and is their first range of smartphones to run the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system from Microsoft. Running a different operating system to all of Nokia’s older smartphones (which ran either Symbian or MeeGo), the Windows Phone operating system brings a variety of new functionality such as the tile-based Metro user interface, access to 40,000+ applications from the Windows Phone Marketplace and the integration of Xbox Live and Microsoft Office into your mobile phone.

The Lumia device range currently consists of two devices: the Nokia Lumia 800 and the Nokia Lumia 710.

Nokia Lumia 800 vs Nokia Lumia 710: Nokia Lumia devices compared

To date, Nokia have announced two Windows Phone devices: the Nokia Lumia 800 and the Nokia Lumia 710. Available at the price of approximately £450 SIM-free, the Lumia 800 is the higher-end device. It features a polycarbonate chassis which is solid yet lightweight and a 3.7-inch organic LED display. Compared to normal LCD displays, organic LED displays produces more vibrant and higher contrast images whilst also being more energy-efficient due to the lack of a backlight.

The Lumia 710 is a lower-priced alternative to the Lumia 800. It replaces the polycarbonate casing with plastic casing and features a standard TFT-LCD display rather than an organic LED display. It also cuts down on the internal memory, camera and battery capacity. The Lumia 710 will be available in early 2012 at the approximate price of £250 SIM-free.

Inevitably, Nokia’s new Windows Phone devices will be compared to top-selling Android and iOS devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Apple iPhone 4S. The debate about whether Windows Phone, Android or iOS is the best operating system will continue to rage (let us know which one you prefer in the comments) but look beyond the operating system and there are some differences in the specifications of the three devices too.

The most visible difference between the three devices in everyday use is the size of the display: the Lumia 800’s 3.7-inch display fits in somewhere between the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display and the Galaxy S II’s 4.3-inch display. Both the Nokia Lumia 800 and the Samsung Galaxy S II feature an organic LED display whereas the iPhone 4S uses the more traditional backlit TFT-LCD display technology. OLED displays have higher contrast and lower power consumption but are more expensive and difficult to fabricate.

The Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple iPhone 4S both benefit from a dual-core processor: in contrast the Nokia Lumia 800 has a faster processor which is single core.

All three devices are compatible with giffgaff and some great savings can be had by buying these devices upfront and using one of our giffgaff goodybags.

Using the Nokia Lumia devices on giffgaff

If you’re looking to use one of the Nokia Lumia devices on giffgaff, there are several key things to know:

Like the iPhone 4S and the iPad, the Nokia Lumia 800 takes Micro SIM cards rather than standard full-sized SIM cards. We don’t provide Micro SIM cards ourselves, but it’s really easy to cut your own using this simple Micro SIM cutting guide and video tutorial. If you’re not keen on the idea of cutting up your SIM card, you can also order a Micro SIM from our Microgaff community.

Have you tried out the Nokia Lumia 800 or the Windows Phone operating system? What do you think? Is it a compelling alternative to Android and the iPhone? Drop us a comment below: we’d love to hear your thoughts on the Lumia and Windows Phone.

I love the look of the Lumia 800 (yes I know it's the same as the Nokia N9 but it's still a thing of beauty). WP7 does appeal to me. If they ever bring out a WP7 phone with gaming controls and decent emulators I would be sorely tempted. Gaming controls + Xbox Live ... *drools*